Harvard students protested Tuesday after the US government said it intends to cancel all remaining financial contracts with the university, President Donald Trump's latest attempt to force the prestigious institution to submit to unprecedented oversight.

Hundreds of students gathered to oppose Trump's widening offensive, including Tuesday's measures estimated to be worth $100 million, against the university that has drawn his ire for refusing to give up control of curriculum, admissions and research.

"Trump = traitor" read one student placard, while the crowd chanted "who belongs in class today, let them stay" in reference to Harvard's international students whose status Trump has upended by summarily revoking the university's accreditation to the country's Student and Exchange Visitor program.

A judge issued a restraining order pending a hearing on the matter scheduled for Thursday, the same day as the university's commencement graduation ceremony for which thousands of graduating students and their families had gathered in Cambridge, Massachusetts near Boston.

Tuesday's protest unfolded as news helicopters hovered........

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